At last week’s Ottery Town Council meeting the situation was described as ‘very bad’, with any rainfall stopping traffic getting between the town and Tipton

Councillor Paul Carter said the culvert under the road still blocked, adding: “I don’t think there are many places worse in Devon, it’s been flooded for weeks now.”

His colleague Roger Giles said a highways team had come to fix the problem in late January but was told they had jetted the ‘wrong culvert’, and urged them to come back as soon as possible to do the job properly.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “We are aware that the ditch at this site is full and as a result it overtops onto the carriageway during any rainfall.

“Unfortunately, highways teams were unable to clear the standing water with the jetter on their initial visit. They are expecting to return as soon as can be arranged.”